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“It is just an issue of fairness, and, secondly, it’s a constitutional issue,” Johnson said on the program, produced in conjunction with WisPolitics.com. “Does the president really have the authority to make changes to these laws unilaterally?”

Those who lose employer-provided health care must spend after-tax dollars to obtain insurance through the exchanges, according to Johnson. He said it’s unfair that members of Congress may receive tax-free employer subsidies when purchasing plans.

“We are getting heart-rending emails from our constituents,” Johnson said. “They’ve lost their policies; they’re losing access to doctors and treatments that have kept them alive.”

Johnson said he believes members of Congress will feel motivated to change elements of the Affordable Care Act if they’re required to experience the “full effects” of the healthcare law.

“That’s how Harry Reid is running the senate,” Johnson said. “He’s basically telling the minority to sit down and shut up, so the Senate is utterly dysfunctional and hasn’t passed an appropriations bill in two years.”

According to Johnson, the Democratic leader is also responsible for obstructing Republican efforts to pay for an extension of unemployment benefits by tightening controls on the Earned Income Tax credit.Johnson said the federal government made $123 billion dollars in “improper” payments over the last decade.

“We can’t pay for any extension with more debt burden on the backs of our kids and grandkids,” Johnson said.

Blaming uncertainty in the federal government, an uncompetitive tax system, and a weak economy for sluggish job growth, Johnson also criticized recent efforts to increase the minimum wage. He said a higher minimum wage would result in fewer opportunities for job-seekers.

“When you increase the cost of employment, you will get less of it,”Johnson said. “I think we’re better off having greater employment opportunities, rather than limited employment opportunities and, by and large, let the marketplace set wage rates.”

Johnson called the situation a “zero-sum game”, adding that the money to pay higher wages would likely come out of money companies could otherwise use to create new jobs.

“The best anti-poverty program is a strong economy,” Johnson said.“That’s how you pull people out of poverty.”

--Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance President Todd Berry said a shift to a sales tax-based revenue model could raise the sales tax to 15 percent, if state spending remains unchanged. Berry, responding to Gov. Scott Walker’s talk about eliminating the state’s income tax, said it makes more sense to have a lower sales tax rate than the current 5 percent but with broader application.

“You’ve really got to do something that politicians hate; you’ve got to stop carving up every tax like it was Swiss cheese,” Berry said.“You can’t exempt all the things that are being exempted.”

In order to keep the sales tax rate low, Berry said the state would need to follow Washington State in levying taxes on things like food and real estate sales, both currently tax free in Wisconsin. He said the state would also need to decide to reduce spending.

“If you look at the states that don’t have an income tax, they all spend less per capita than we do,” Berry said.

According to Berry, the state property and income taxes are around 25 percent higher than the national average, while the sales tax is 15 percent lower. He said the state could work to balance the two.

“There’s no question that there’s a need for tax reform,” Berry said.“We haven’t had a comprehensive discussion in decades.”

When asked his opinion on the possibility of introducing sales tax holidays, Berry said his organization avoids taking stands. He instead pointed to the conclusions of other entities.

“If you look at all the various research groups and think-tanks in Wisconsin and around the country, whether they’re on the far right, the far left or anywhere in between, none of them support a sales tax holiday,” Berry said. “They all say for the same reason; basically, it’s pretty bad tax policy.”